5 Great Things About Canada’s Dwindling Loonie

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Our poor loonie. As it continues its decent into Zimbabwean territory, we as Canadians must find a silver lining. There’s gotta be some good that will come out of this, right? Please? This is our list of 5 positives that will come out of a whole heap of negative.

A return to manufacturing in Canada

As our loonie drops, so does the cost of doing business in Canada. Foreign companies will see this as incentive to start manufacturing goods here. It now costs foreign companies a lot less to employ Canadians, which could give Ontario manufacturing plants the green light.

Forced diversification

In hindsight, putting all of our eggs in two baskets – oil and housing – wasn’t the smartest decision. All that money spent on tar-sand infrastructure could have been spent on other areas of our economy, like technology and innovation. Canada came out of the 2008 recession relatively unscathed, and as such, we didn’t have to take a hard look at ourselves in the mirror and accept our flaws. We were a two-horse show, and we liked it (well, some of us did). Now, those decisions to rely on oil and housing are giving us a whole world of hurt. The silver lining – time to look in the mirror and accept our faults. We will go through the grieving process, but we will realize that it’s time to invest in other areas of our economy. If we diversify our economy, we will make it through volatile times. It’s like a hockey team with three solid lines. If your top center gets injured, you know you can rely on the other guys to get the job done. You might lose a couple more games than usual, but you’ll still make the playoffs.

An export-led economy

Anexport-ledeconomy

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Everything is on sale in Canada. Come on America, buy our cars and televisions. Yo Brits! come take a trip to Banff or Niagara Falls. It’s cheap cheap cheap! This one is also linked with #1 – if we produce things in Canada, foreign countries will buy them because our dollar is so low. I don’t think we can compete with Mexico in vehicle manufacturing, but we can sure sell parts for cheap. Entrepreneurs, start advertising and selling abroad. Let’s get our products on the international market so that we can switch from an import-led economy to an export-led economy, which will fuel growth and innovation.

Massive infrastructure projects

Our Federal Liberals have pledged to invest in massive infrastructure projects across Canada, and there is no better time than now. The low loonie means that our government will spend less for more. Projects won’t be as expensive, therefore, more projects! This will create more jobs, and thus more spending. Let’s hope the Libs decide that 10 billion dollars isn’t enough to start out. We need more money invested in infrastructure right now, like 20 billion, or better yet, 30 billion. Let’s get spending!

Staycations

The portmanteau of “stay” and “vacation,” staycations have never been more appealing and important in the last 15 years. It’s too expensive to head down to Florida for a winter vacation, and it’s even too expensive to travel to the Caribbean right now. Canadians will keep their money at home, literally. Exploring Canada will not only save us money, it will positively impact our tourist industry. Better yet, Canadians will gain a deeper appreciation and understand of our land; just don’t forget to pack your coat and toque.